Chapter 25: Pt.2

Murong Shi was currently enjoying the breeze out on the second-floor balcony.

She had just woken up from an afternoon nap, and she had yet to change out of her pajamas. She lazily sat in a hanging lounge chair, holding a glass of fresh watermelon juice courtesy of Aunt Lian in one hand and her phone in the other hand.

Murong Shi wasn't sure when she had picked up this hobby, but nowadays, she would often mess around with Xu Chuanchuan whenever she had free time. When she imagined the other party's defeated and frantic reactions, she couldn't help but feel happy.

Of course, Murong Shi still restrained herself a little to prevent herself from becoming a pervert, and most of the words she said were mere jokes. However, she never expected Xu Chuanchuan to take her words seriously this time.

Write meat? Does she think I'm that hungry?

However, Murong Shi did not intend to clear up the misunderstanding. So long as Xu Chuanchuan dared to write the explicit content she promised, Murong Shi would read it.

Suddenly, Murong Shi began wondering what kind of explicit scene Xu Chuanchuan would portray with her dull mind.

After getting bored of browsing Weibo and finishing her juice, Murong Shi stretched her body. Seeing that there was still no response from Xu Chuanchuan, Murong Shi decided not to wait any longer and made her way to the bath.

Midway through her bath, Murong Shi heard a knock coming from her bedroom door. It was her mother calling her for dinner.

Two hours later, Murong Shi returned to her room after accompanying Murong Mingshu for an after-dinner stroll. She then took another bath to freshen up.

While applying her facial mask, Murong Shi heard a "ding-dong" coming from her phone but ignored it as her skincare took priority.

Half an hour had gone by already by the time Murong Shi finished applying all of her skincare products. Lying down on her bed, Murong Shi leisurely picked up her phone.

She hadn't turned off Weibo since she last used her phone, so she immediately saw an unread message after unlocking the screen.

I Love Malatang: "I wrote it. The content is a little loaded, so take your time reading. [Shy]"

Following the message were two images.

Murong Shi tapped on the images and enlarged them one after another.

Murong Shi originally didn't hold any expectations, but when she finished reading the text in the two images, her face had turned livid.

It really was a genuine piece of "meat." The writing had a proper start and end, and every step was written in detail. The writing gave a clear image of what was being described. If a hungry person read this, they would probably be drooling by now.

Murong Shi frowned deeply.

Murong Shi never thought that Xu Chuanchuan would be so "literal" as to write an entire "meat-braising" process for her. Moreover, it was even for the world-famous dish—Dongpo pork.

Murong Shi angrily threw her phone aside.

However, refusing to let Xu Chuanchuan get away so easily, she picked up her phone again, her fingers rapidly typing away at the virtual keyboard.

There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "I'm off to reduce some points. [Bye-bye]"

Xu Chuanchuan was a person of her word. She had spent three hours researching online and watching videos for inspiration before successfully writing a 2,000-word "meat article." Even she had found herself drooling when she read her writing, and she felt very pleased with her work. However, she never thought that the other party would be dissatisfied with it!

I Love Malatang: "Don't, don't, don't!!! Mercy!!! You don't like Dongpo pork? How about we change it to something else? Red braised pork belly? Boiled beef? Fish with pickled vegetables? Roast lamb? You order, I'll write! [Please][Please]"

However, after failing to get a reply for some time, Xu Chuanchuan finally realized that she might've gone too far.

Biting on her t-shirt's collar apprehensively, she opened the home page for her ongoing book and waited for the arrival of a certain someone's point reductions.

However, after smashing the F5 button for nearly ten minutes and failing to see "Passerby Shi"'s ID appearing, Xu Chuanchuan sighed in relief.

…

The conversation Xu Chuanchuan had with her little sister still affected her to a certain extent. Originally, she planned to do her best to avoid Murong Shi. She had even opted to use the restroom downstairs instead of the one on her office floor. However, after enacting her plan a few times, she realized how short-sighted she was.

How would Murong Shi have the spare time to mess with her every day?

After three days of going to work, Xu Chuanchuan never caught sight of Murong Shi even once. Whenever she passed by the general manager's office, she would always inadvertently find herself taking a peek inside. Though fearing that the person inside would come out at any time, she would then hastily flee the area.

Meanwhile, Xu Chuanchuan relaxed a lot after not seeing Murong Shi for a few days. In addition, Xu Chuanchuan also noticed that her capricious tycoon reader had inexplicably disappeared.

Actually, the capricious tycoon's disappearance wasn't wholly inexplicable. There was a high possibility that Xu Chuanchuan had angered the tycoon, and the other party decided to stop following her work.

—Darling Shi has stopped sending Deep-waters.

—Lord's update is so slow. I also want to stockpile, but I can't help myself from reading.

—Haha! Lord is straight, so how could she have a girlfriend?

…

When Xu Chuanchuan saw the word "girlfriend," she nearly crushed the mangosteen in her hand. No matter how many times her readers tagged her in the chat, she also didn't dare make a peep. She then dismally thought to herself, What true love? Someone even threatened to give me point reductions three days ago.

Xu Chuanchuan was plagued with an unspeakable hardship. However, she had nothing but herself to blame for this. I should've simply stood my ground and vehemently refused. Why did I have to agree and write a joke article instead? I'm so stupid.

…

In reality, Murong Shi had been absent from the company for the past three days. She and Linda had followed her uncle, Murong Mingkun, on a business trip outside the city.

Murong Shi had been swamped with work throughout this trip, so she naturally wasn't in any mood to read novels. Whenever she returned to the hotel, the first thing she did was remove her shoes and throw her exhausted body onto the bed.

One day, Linda asked her before going to bed, "What's the name of that novel you're reading?"

Murong Shi, who was removing her makeup, paused for a moment and asked, "Why do you ask?"

"I'm curious and bored, so I'm thinking of reading it as well."

Murong Shi turned to look at Linda, her phoenix eyes carrying unreadable emotions. After scrutinizing Linda, Murong Shi casually said, "I forgot."

Linda: "..." And here I wanted to cultivate a common hobby with her…

Murong Shi continued removing her makeup after speaking, the emotions in her eyes settling down. However, thoughts still occupied her mind.

There was no way Murong Shi would ever forget the shocking and thought-provoking title of Xu Chuanchuan's latest book. Xu Chuanchuan had angered her quite significantly that day, and she very much wanted to use all of her point reductions. In the end, though, she endured her urges.

To make herself feel better, she decided not to touch jjwxc's app altogether.

…

Friday arrived in the blink of an eye.

One of Xu Chuanchuan's male colleagues had his birthday today. Before it was time to get off work, he had invited everyone in the Engineering Department out to play. However, Xu Chuanchuan remained silent amidst everyone's cheering.

The male colleague in question then took notice of Xu Chuanchuan and said, "Little Xu, you're coming as well."

Smiling awkwardly, Xu Chuanchuan said, "I still have some work to do, so I'll pass, but happy birthday."

The male colleague frowned at Xu Chuanchuan's reply. Moving closer, he said, "What can you do after working hours? Not to mention, it's the weekend tomorrow. C'mon, give me some face."

This male colleague was known for being a womanizer. Even though he had a girlfriend, he often made ambiguous jokes with other girls in the office. Hence, Xu Chuanchuan wasn't very fond of him.

Xu Chuanchuan avoided the male colleague's approach without hesitation and said, "I have to work overtime tonight."

The male colleague was momentarily stunned. He then laughed and said, "Who are you kidding? Is there even a need to work overtime in our company?"

It was indeed unnecessary, but Xu Chuanchuan refused to entertain her colleague. After pondering for a moment, she said, "A new batch of summer products just arrived, and the chief wants me to get pictures of them. I need to take pictures of every model. I can't finish it without working overtime."

This wasn't actually an urgent matter, and Xu Chuanchuan had originally planned to leave it until next week.

The male colleague put on a thoughtful look for a moment.

Refusing to get entangled with her male colleague any longer, Xu Chuanchuan grabbed her phone from her desk safe and said, "Sorry, but I'm busy."

She would take a few pictures first and leave once her colleagues were gone.

Half an hour before the end of her shift, Xu Chuanchuan entered the airtight photography room alone. Quite a few unpacked boxes were sitting in the corner, and she opened five of them first. After spreading the products on a table and adjusting the room's brightness, she photographed the items from several angles.

Half an hour wasn't enough to photograph the five products. After she was done photographing, she still had to repack the products and clean up the room. By the time she was done, she had spent roughly an hour in the photography room already.

Xu Chuanchuan moved quietly as she left the room. By now, everyone in her department should've left the building already, with a portion going home and the rest celebrating that male colleague's birthday. Xu Chuanchuan hummed a tune and skipped and hopped as she returned to the Engineering Department.

Suddenly, one of the doors lining the corridor opened.

"Ah—" Xu Chuanchuan gasped and jumped back in fright.

The person who opened the door was also startled by Xu Chuanchuan's voice, though the person's expression quickly reverted to its originally icy-cold state. While scrutinizing Xu Chuanchuan, the person asked, "Why are you still here?"

Xu Chuanchuan was confused. Why was Murong Shi still in the company?

Putting on a stiff smile, Xu Chuanchuan shook the camera she held and said, "I went to take pictures just now."

While deliberately avoiding Murong Shi's gaze, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "Is Linda not with you?"

Instead of responding immediately, Murong Shi slowly closed the door behind her and indifferently said, "Her boyfriend came and picked her up to celebrate."

Celebrate?

"Oh, I forgot today was 520,"[1] Xu Chuanchuan said in realization. Her mind spinning rapidly, she then asked, "Are you celebrating with your boyfriend as well?"

Murong Shi narrowed her eyes at Xu Chuanchuan's words. She then said in an unreadable tone, "No."

Xu Chuanchuan did not expect to receive this answer, so she was momentarily at a loss for words.

"I'm leaving now."

"Wait…"

Murong Shi turned around and looked at Xu Chuanchuan in confusion.

Tightening her grip over the camera, Xu Chuanchuan said, "Thank you for dropping off my little sister that day."

"You've thanked me for that already."

Indeed, Xu Chuanchuan had already verbally thanked Murong Shi on that night. Xu Chuanchuan also didn't know why she decided to mention this topic again.

Xu Chuanchuan felt one of her ears itching, but she dared not scratch it. Her body tensed up in anxiety, and she felt very uncomfortable.

However, Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help herself from reacting in this manner. Murong Shi was too tall. Coupled with Murong Shi's indifferent expression, Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but feel stressed whenever she stood in front of Murong Shi. Her mind falling apart due to the stress, Xu Chuanchuan suddenly asked, "How about I buy you dinner?"

TL Notes:

[1]520: This number represents 我爱你(wǒ ài nǐ - I love you) in Chinese internet slang. Hence, many Chinese celebrate May 20th as if they were celebrating Valentine's Day.